§ 53. Mr. P. Noel-Bakerasked the Lord Privy Seal what proposals Her Majesty's Government intend to make to the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee concerning the levels of manpower to be permitted in the armed forces of signatory States at the end of the first and second stages of a treaty for general and complete disarmament.
§ Mr. Noel-BakerWill the Lord Privy Seal ask his noble Friend to look at this matter again? Does he really think that the present Western proposal is satisfactory when it would mean that at the end of the sixth year of the disarmament treaty the major Powers would still have more men in their forces than Hitler had in the summer of 1939, and that they would be much more powerfully armed?
§ Mr. HeathMy noble Friend follows this matter with the closest interest. The right hon. Gentleman knows the actual figures which are involved, but I do not think that this is one of the major problems at present facing us in this particular matter.
§ Mr. MillanIs it not one of the major problems? If there is really no obstacle to agreement on this matter, why cannot we get agreement and at least make a slight step forward? Is it not an extraordinary piece of reasoning to say, as the Minister of State said last week, that because there is no obstacle to agreement, there is no urgency for getting agreement?
§ Mr. HeathIf we could get agreement on the other matters, such as the reduction of armaments, verification and peace-keeping, I do not think that the difference which exists concerning the level of forces would prove to be a major obstacle.
§ Mr. Noel-BakerIs not manpower an important factor in the conventional forces, in which we say that Russia has great superiority? Since Russia has proposed a much greater reduction than the Western plan, ought we not to consider a compromise which would be in our interests?
§ Mr. HeathIt is not so much a question of the actual amount as of the way in which one tackles this problem in the Disarmament Conference. That is the only difference between us.